Sam, that must have been fun, even if maybe not $24 worth of fun. Was it a fruit punch or something better than that?

Hoke, the blurb accompanying the Sling calls it "a prototypical tropical cooler, a warm up to the tiki storm that was to come." I'm not sure I buy that either, but on the other hand, have you ever visited Bourbon Street? The Sling would fit right in that mass of garishly colored and flavored drinks of questionable quality.

So often that I studiously avoid all those garish, sugary sweet atrocities.

I've had good Singapore Slings, and I've had the really awful fruit-punchy ones too. Had a bad SS early on and thought that's what the drink was, so I was off them for many years. Then I had a well-made one and that made all the difference.

It's not my favorite drink, no. And one does me for a good while. But I think I like the drink a bit more than you do...based on the version you had, anyway.

And yeah, I don't buy that line from Imbibe about the SS triggering or foreshadowing tiki. Now Aviation, Last Word, a cocktail such as that, I can see as being influential. But not the SS.

Walt wrote:Sam, that must have been fun, even if maybe not $24 worth of fun. Was it a fruit punch or something better than that?

The experience was definitely very cool. As I'm sure Lou will attest the bar at Raffles is gorgeous and the servers all wear traditional colonial era outfits. The drink was not fruit punch based. It was mixed from fundamental ingredients. I can't say that it tasted bad it's just not something that I have had an urge to taste again. I would definitely recommend a Raffles visit to anyone traveling to Singapore. Maybe just consider having something other than or in addition to the Sling.

Sam

"The biggest problem most people have is that they think they shouldn't have any." - Tony Robbins

Day 7: "Long Island Iced Tea" - Influential? Really? It certainly influenced bartenders everywhere to hate whoever ordered it. This version contains an ounce each of gin, light rum, vodka, blanco tequila, and triple sec, so it's a pain to make and contains something like 3 shots worth of alcohol. Despite this, due to the simple syrup and cola, it's fairly drinkable, if sweet. I can picture someone declaiming in a loud slur, "I just had one drink!"

Day 8: "Caipirinha" - Nice to get back to a drink I consider a classic. A slightly heaping teaspoon of sugar paired with a half a large lime is pleasingly tart, without obscuring the character of the cachaça. It's hard to imagine why rum drinks became so overwhelmingly popular. It's indisputably true that this drink introduced cachaça to the U.S.

I'm with you on both the Long Island Iced Tea---just an excuse to put a lot of liquor into one glass, and essentially a waste of good liquor.

With you also on the Caipirinha. Nice tasty hot weather drink. I prefer the Martinique version, though: the Ti'-Punch. Muddle the lime, add Martinique (agricole) rhum, drink. You can sugar to taste, for those that need more sugar.

Hoke wrote:I'm with you on both the Long Island Iced Tea---just an excuse to put a lot of liquor into one glass, and essentially a waste of good liquor.

Believe me, that was a painful drink to make. I don't have well-quality spirits around, so all my good stuff went in the bucket, so to speak.

With you also on the Caipirinha. Nice tasty hot weather drink. I prefer the Martinique version, though: the Ti'-Punch. Muddle the lime, add Martinique (agricole) rhum, drink. You can sugar to taste, for those that need more sugar.

Hm, I've never had rhum agricole. I understand it's made with fresh cane juice instead of molasses, but so is cachaça. Is aging the difference? It's not clear to me.

Day 9: "Aviation" - Confession time. I may have gone out and foolishly bought ingredients to make the rest of the cocktails on the list. Like a full bottle of Crème Yvette. For two dashes! And I'm still missing five different bottles of rum that are called for specifically. Five! Boy, I need a drink. Fortunately, the Aviation is one of my favorites, and I suppose I should be grateful it's possible to make one at all, Crème Yvette being out of production between 1969 and 2009.

An ounce of lemon juice (juice two small or one large lemon), 1.5 oz. gin, and two dashes each Luxardo/maraschino liqueur and Crème Yvette (or crème de violette) are shaken over ice. I have no idea what a dash is, so I started with 1/4 tsp. and went to 3/4 tsp. until I felt the violet was detectable. Nothing is worse than a drink that stinks of cheap cologne. I've already disappointed Hoke again by using Tanqueray 10, a.k.a. The Only Gin I Own, instead of a London Dry. I've had back-to-back Aviations, one with No. 209 and one with Ten (must have been feeling numerical that day), and the Ten is too assertive. That's a quibble in a drink this well posed, though.

Hey, I like Tanq10! It's just that Tanq10 is great for some cocktails (and for G&Ts) but not right for others, thassall.

Re Cachaca and agricole: yes, you're right, they are both made from sugar cane juice (rather than molasses or granulated sugar slurry) and in that way they are similar of type. The differences come in from the different regional influences, different climates, and different styles.

Martinique is technically a province of France (as Hawaii is to the U.S.) and has to follow AOC/DO laws regarding agricole rhum. It tends to be richer, more mellow than Cachaca; most Cachaca is white (although the aged stuff can be really good), and much of the Martinique is allowed to age and mellow into lovely, rich golden amber rum.

Cachaca tends to be extremely high volume, quickly made, industrial type rum, fast and inexpensive and huge volume (and 30% of the cachaca produced is required to go into ethanol fuel for the cars). Martinique, on the other hand, tends to be smaller batch, more slowly fermented, and with greater depth of flavor---good enough flavor that you can simply mix it with a small bit of sugar (brown sugar goes really well) and a muddled lime---that's a Ti'-Punch. Simple and sublime.

Day 10: "Bloody Mary" - One of my favorite scenes from the American TV show "Cheers" is when Sam the bartender is out and his girlfriend Diane is filling in. Barmaid Carla is watching her struggle to assemble a Bloody Mary when Sam comes back in and tells Carla, "We usually mix up 5 gallons and put it in the refrigerator beforehand. How come you're doing this, Carla? Why'd you let her do it?" Carla responds, "I wanted to see her try to make vodka."

I really enjoy a good virgin Bloody Mary, but typically find that the vodka doesn't add much, if anything to the taste of the drink. (Sort of like egg nog, actually.) The from-scratch version, including freshly-grated horseradish, is OK, but honestly not worth the trouble over pre-mixed. If all you have is V8, feel free to spike it instead of making your own.

Imbibe says the origin of the Bloody Mary is disputed, but may be from 1921. That's a lot of brunches.

Day 11: Bellini - For some reason I always thought the mimosa and kir royale were the original sparkling-wine cocktails, but apparently not.

Imbibe's recipe calls for 1.5 ounces white peach puree, and I was lucky enough to spot some tiny, very-end-of-season white nectarines at the farmer's market this weekend. However, it doesn't elaborate on how to produce said puree, so I stuck a couple nectarines in my mini chop and ran until it seemed smooth. Apparently I should have peeled the nectarines and pureed for longer, because the result was unpleasantly chunky. You can see what it looked like below.

Also, pouring Prosecco into peach puree is about as easy as safely lowering a cow into piranha-infested waters. It practically explodes in the flute, so we ended up putting the flutes on a tray to contain the overflow. Taste was pretty good, though. Like the other sparkling wine cocktails that use fruit juice, the quality of the wine is not that important, and Prosecco tends to be pretty neutral anyway. Next time I'd probably try a Cava.

Last edited by wnissen on Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

Day 12: "Last Word" - I'm back to shaken cocktails after our fridge was on the blink yesterday. The Last Word is a cocktail I'd heard of but never tried until tonight. And I've still not tried it because I appear to have confused Luxardo Bitter with the straw-wrapped bottle that is the Maraschino liqueur. Come to think of it, that's why my Aviation was bright pink instead of pale purple! The Last Word is supposed to be equal parts green Chartreuse, gin, Maraschino liqueur, and lime juice. Luxardo Bitter is a Campari competitor, so I essentially made a Negroni with lime. It was pretty good, actually.

The Last Word is my sacrosanct cocktail. It's one of the truly greats, right up there with the Martini and the Manhattan and the Sazerac. It is a magical alchemical combination of just the right ingredients in just the right proportions. Each one is individually fascinating right up until the last drop.

I'm glad you realize what you made, while it might very well taste good, is not The Last Word.

Now go back and make one that is. You need to have a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino anyway; it's a great component to have for cocktails (I even like some in a Manhattan occasionally) so you won't be wasting money. At the very least, you can use it for a Hemingway Daiquiri.

And be careful this time: Luxardo also makes an amaretto, and we don't want that going into a Last Word either. <shudder>

Getting rid of the Bitter is no problem; my wife loves Campari and Sprite. Unfortunately, I think she would also kill me if I bought any more liqueurs right now, so it will have to wait. I guess you could say I haven't had the Last Word...

Day 13: "Harvey Wallbanger" - Going to a school with "Harvey" in the name, this was a drink I made as an amateur bartender. However, it was never one of my favorites, as evidenced by the nearly full bottle of Galliano that's probably a decade old or more. I don't know any other use for Galliano (everyone's favorite liqueur that sounds Italian but isn't) except for the Golden Cadillac, which is truly awful.

At this point, the Wallbanger is so 70s and dated you'd probably have better luck ordering a Screwdriver with a Galliano float. Still, I can see the path from the Wallbanger to Sex on the Beach, which, in the aforementioned amateur bar, single-handedly required a 1.75L bottle of peach schnapps.

Day 14: "Moscow Mule" - I wasn't aware that this drink played a significant role in popularizing vodka (it predates yesterday's Harvey Wallbanger). Vodka was something I liked a lot back when I didn't really care for the taste of alcohol, but quickly grew out of after college. Of course, with assertive ginger beer and lime, it's barely possible to taste the vodka, so it's a good application, in my opinion. Despite falling out of popularity decades ago, I found the Moscow Mule relatively modern and delicious. A lot of the credit no doubt goes to the Reed's Extra Ginger Beer, which contains an ounce of ginger for spice and 20% less sugar than a Coke. Add the lime and you're into food-pairing territory for me. We were having hot dogs and I thought it was a legitimate match with both a mustard/relish dog and a green chile one.

wnissen wrote:Day 6: "Long Island Iced Tea" - Influential? Really? It certainly influenced bartenders everywhere to hate whoever ordered it. This version contains an ounce each of gin, light rum, vodka, blanco tequila, and triple sec, so it's a pain to make and contains something like 3 shots worth of alcohol. Despite this, due to the simple syrup and cola, it's fairly drinkable, if sweet. I can picture someone declaiming in a loud slur, "I just had one drink!"

I once had a first date with some NFL football player wherein I met him at some restaurant's bar, and in an attempt at being thoughtful he made sure there was a Long Island Iced Tea waiting when I got there. He was shocked that I wouldn't drink it because "all the girls like these". Needless to say, there was no second date.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

wnissen wrote:Day 12: "Harvey Wallbanger" Going to a school with "Harvey" in the name, this was a drink I made as an amateur bartender. However, it was never one of my favorites, as evidenced by the nearly full bottle of Galliano that's probably a decade old or more. I don't know any other use for Galliano (everyone's favorite liqueur that sounds Italian but isn't) except for the Golden Cadillac, which is truly awful.

At this point, the Wallbanger is so 70s and dated you'd probably have better luck ordering a Screwdriver with a Galliano float. Still, I can see the path from the Wallbanger to Sex on the Beach, which, in the aforementioned amateur bar, single-handedly required a 1.75L bottle of peach schnapps.

Jenise wrote:I once had a first date with some NFL football player wherein I met him at some restaurant's bar, and in an attempt at being thoughtful he made sure there was a Long Island Iced Tea waiting when I got there. He was shocked that I wouldn't drink it because "all the girls like these". Needless to say, there was no second date.

Hee! I bet he thought that drink was magic, because most women would be too drunk to drive after one Long Island.

Another drink I've only had one of ever so no expertise here, but I thought a Wallbanger also included Chartreuse. No, or is that another drink?

Galliano is similar to yellow Chartreuse, supposedly. I've not had the opportunity to compare them. I could see the substitution.

Bob Parsons wrote:Harvey Wallbanger. Had a few of those in my time...well eeeer college days when I was chasing the local talent in London! I remember one brunette from Kew Gardens, well maybe another time .

It's funny how some drinks just define (or are defined by) the era. Others are timeless, or constantly reinvented, but the Harvey Wallbanger is pure, unadulterated leisure suit. At least you have good memories of it!

Day 15: "Irish Coffee" - The Beuna Vista Cafe in my adopted hometown of San Francisco is indelibly linked with the Irish Coffee, and apparently is the largest single consumer of Irish whiskey in America. (Note that there's an 'e' in "Ireland" but not in "Scotland".)http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S ... 484244.php However, I've never had one. After trying it, though, maybe I will make a pilgrimage.

I happened to have some Irish whiskey in my cabinet already. Concannon Vineyards, a Livermore winery of long standing, is owned by a family from Ireland that recently began producing a whiskey in collaboration with Cooley. It's not a single malt, but it's 4 years old, moderate in flavor, and while it's not a whiskey I sip much, it does well in cocktails. We don't have a coffee maker, so instant coffee it is. The Buena Vista recipe calls for sugar cubes, but Imbibe specifies 3/4 oz. brown simple syrup in a 1:1 ratio added to two ounces whiskey. Imbibe also uses whipped cream, which makes the 1/2 inch float considerably easier! The result was, I'm happy to say, warming, sweet, and delicious. There's some harshness in the first sip, but it quickly goes away. Yum.

Moscow Mules---that cocktail has made a resounding comeback in bartender/mixology circles, so it's au courant again. It's still best in the "traditional" copper cup (because it emphasizes the coldness and gingery zinginess of the cocktail. Plus bartenders can add that fresh ginger zing all they want, and enhance it in other ways. It's also a good drink for clubbing because, a a la highball, there's usually way more non-alcoholic in ratio to alcoholic. Plus, the younger drinkers love it.

Irish Coffee---although I happily visit the Buena Vista and drink their Irish Coffee, I prefer my own version. Don't make it as much as I used to, because for me it is a convivial drink for a group and I do that less than I used to.

My recipe came from Ireland and I'm kinda picky about it.

1. Use good Irish Whiskey (which you did, Cooley makes a nice pot still style of Irish, in comparison to the Bushmills, which makes malt scotch. The Pot Still style works better with Irish Coffee than the Malt Style, imo.

2. As Imbibe says, use brown sugar. I don't make simple syrup; I just use the sugar, as brown sugar is easy to mix in hot coffee.

3. No instant! French or Italian, or even Viennese, roast grade from a top roaster, either drip or French Press, made fresh to order.

4. None of that canned whipped cream. Hand whipped, fresh and not to the stiff point, then slid slowly over the back of a spoon on top of the coffee/sugar mix. Part of the joy of a great IC is sipping 'through' the sweet soft cream, then getting hit full force with the intensified whiskiness of the booze, then hit with the soft richness of the brown sugar.

5. Rule: If anyone, ever, serves you an "Irish Coffee" that looks like a latte, refuse it. That's just a latte with some whiskey in it,which is fine, but it's not Irish Coffee.